Contacts
Variable You have an associate who provides you with useful information, or who does small (pick any two of “quick,” “nonhazardous,” and “inexpensive”) favors for you. The point value of a Contact is based on the skill he uses to assist you, the frequency with which he provides information or favors, and his reliability as a person. Effective Skill of Contact First, decide on the type of Contact you have. He might be anything from a wino in the right gutter to a head of state, depending on your background. What is important is that he has access to information, knows you, and is likely to react favorably. (Of course, offering cash or favors is never a bad idea; the GM will set the Contact’s “price.”) Next, choose the useful skill your Contact provides. This skill must match the Contact’s background; e.g., Finance for a banker or Forensics for a lab technician. Since the GM rolls against this skill when you request aid from your Contact, you should select a skill that can provide the results you expect. If you want ballistics comparisons, take a Contact with Forensics, not Finance! After that, select an effective skill level. This reflects the Contact’s connections, other skills, Status, etc. It need not be his actual skill level (the GM will set this, if it matters). For instance, the president of a local steel mill might have business-related skills of 12-14, but his effective skill might be 18 because of his position in the company. This skill level determines the Contact’s base cost: Frequency of Appearance Select a frequency of appearance, as explained under Frequency of Appearance, and apply its multiplier to the base cost of the Contact. When you wish to reach your Contact, the GM rolls against his frequency of appearance. On a failure, the Contact is busy or cannot be located that day. On a 17 or 18, the Contact cannot be reached for the entire adventure! On a success, the GM will roll against the Contact’s effective skill once per piece of information or minor favor you request. No Contact may be reached more than once per day, even if several PCs share the same Contact. If you have several questions to ask, you should have them all in mind when you first reach your Contact. The Contact answers the first question at his full effective skill. Each subsequent question is at a cumulative -2. Don’t overuse your Contacts! A Contact can never supply information outside his area of knowledge. Use common sense. Likewise, the GM must not allow a Contact to give information that short-circuits an important part of the adventure. You must explain how you normally get in touch with your Contact. Regardless of frequency of appearance, you cannot reach your Contact if those channels are closed. Reliability Contacts are not guaranteed to be truthful. Reliability multiplies the Contact’s point cost as follows: Completely Reliable Even on a critical failure on his effective skill roll, the Contact’s worst response will be “I don’t know.” On an ordinary failure, he can find information in 1d days. x3. Usually Reliable On a critical failure, the Contact lies. On any other failure, he doesn’t know now, “. . . but check back in (1d) days.” Roll again at that time; a failure then means he can’t find out at all. x2. Somewhat Reliable On a failure, the Contact doesn’t know and can’t find out. On a critical failure, he lies – and on a natural 18, he lets the opposition or authorities (as appropriate) know who is asking questions. x1. Unreliable Reduce effective skill by 2. On any failure, he lies; on a critical failure, he notifies the enemy. x1/2 (round up; minimum final cost is 1 point). Contact Group You have a network of Contacts placed throughout a particular organization or social stratum. You must specify a corporation, criminal syndicate, military unit, police department, or similar organization, or the underworld, merchants, upper class, etc. of one particular town. Broader Contact Groups are not allowed. You may request information from a Contact Group exactly as you would an individual Contact, using the same rules for frequency of appearance, effective skill, and reliability. The difference is that a Contact Group’s effective skill reflects ability at an entire category of skills – e.g., “business skills” if your Contact Group is a corporation, or “military skills” if your Contact Group is a military unit – as opposed to one specific skill. You must define this area of knowledge when you purchase the Contact Group, and it must be appropriate to the organization. The GM rolls against the group’s effective skill when you request any information that it could reasonably provide. However, this is an abstract success roll, not a roll against a specific skill. For instance, a police Contact Group could provide ballistics comparisons, criminal profiles, legal advice, police records, and introductions to criminals. It would not specifically use Forensics, Criminology, Law, Administration, or Streetwise skills for this, but the information provided might be appropriate to any of these “police skills.” To determine the point cost of a Contact Group, select its effective skill, frequency of appearance, and reliability level just as you would for a simple Contact, then multiply the resulting cost by 5. Category:Advantages